Phillips Walks Out On Alouettes: As in Lawrence, the former Nebraska star and St. Louis Rams draft pick whose off-field troubles continue to plague him to this day. The team he left, the Montreal Alouettes, is undefeated and the top team in the Canadian Football League this season. This is the thanks the Alouettes get for signing Phillips, even though they already had veteran Mike Pringle on the roster -- the player who was the CFL's leading rusher last season.
I've just about had enough of Phillips, and heartfully wish he just go away forever this time. He's already worn out his welcome with a number of NFL teams, including both San Francisco and Miami after Dick Vermiel showed him the door in St. Louis. One more thing: whenever I see an item about Phillips, they always casually mention a "domestic abuse" complaint involving his girlfriend back in college. I'd like to remind everyone that incident actually included Phillips throwing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs. And when Nebraska coach Tom Osborne reinstated Phillips in time to play in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, I knew all I needed to know about what they teach down in Lincoln, Nebraska. Hope you all had a great time celebrating that national championship, losers. Always remember, that 'N' on the helmet stands for knowledge, and for one of the greatest travesties in the history of college football.
UPDATE: Looks like Phillips departure from Montreal is all about the Benjamins. According to this AP story, Phillips is only making $27,000 in Montreal, quite a come down from his salary of $1.25 million in San Francisco. He's demanding a renegotiation, and Montreal is telling him to honor his contract or get lost. In the meantime, his agent has publicly terminated their relationship as well.
This does tell us one thing: that despite his performance in the World League last Summer (where he set a league record for rushing), Phillips can't do any better than $27,000 to play in Canada. One has to wonder out loud if former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne didn't do Phillips a grave disservice when he reinstated him to play in that Fiesta Bowl. Sure, he might have won a national title, but Osborne took a pass on teaching Phillips a lesson.
